Southwark motorists to see parking charges soar to more than £11 per hour
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
Drivers face paying more than £11 per hour to park in dozens of streets in a borough.
Southwark council is set to charge motorists with diesel vehicles £11.25 per hour to park their cars in six inner-city neighbourhoods, before VAT is added.
Drivers leaving their cars in streets in the Bankside, Borough, Newington, Bermondsey, Grange and London Bridge areas would be affected by the proposed price rises.
Those with non-diesel cars parking in these areas face paying £7.25 per hour to park, before VAT.
Drivers using zoned on-street parking in outer areas of Southwark would have to pay £4.75 per hour, with those owning diesel vehicles charged £7.75 per hour before VAT, under the fees being considered.
The proposed rises mean that the cost of parking on some streets in the borough is set to more than double.
The increased fees were revealed in Southwark’s draft fees and charges paper for 2023-24, released ahead of a council cabinet meeting earlier this week.
The proposed prices could still change before coming into force later next year.
The document says the diesel surcharge was increased to support the Labour-led council’s commitment to improve air quality in the borough.
“Fees set at appropriate levels for traffic management reasons and are varied to manage limited road space based on surveys of our kerb space use,” the paper reads.
On-street pay machines would also be removed as part of the changes, with motorists expected to pay online or at a pay-point in nearby shops.
The new two zone, inner and outer, pay tariffs would replace the four existing tariffs.
Elsewhere, the price of a space in the council’s two Peckham car parks is set to rise by 150 per cent from 80p an hour to £2 per hour, inclusive of VAT.
Meanwhile drivers purchasing their first annual parking permit in the borough would have to fork out £225 – £92 more than previously.
Owners of more environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles face paying an eye watering 368 per cent extra for their first annual parking permit.
These drivers would be expected to cough up £150 for a permit – £118 more than last year.
Pictured top: The cost of on-street parking around London Bridge is expected to rise (Picture: Google Street View)
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